Music To My Ears

Today I'm working on uploading a bunch of my CDs to my IPOD. Gotta love days when THAT is your biggest workload :) I have no dirty laundry, the kitchen is clean, Noah has his cousin over to play, so I'm gonna play a little today! I have such a fun, eclectic collection of CDs, so this should be interesting. Some of my CDs are Tony Bennett, Billy Joel, Clay Aiken, Alison Krauss, Nickel Creek, Donny Osmond, Josh Groban, Sting, Lyle Lovett, Asleep at the Wheel (love that rockabilly!), Dixie Chicks, Steven Curtis Chapman, James Taylor....and there are a lot more I need to look for the in garage. :) The photo above is part of a Circle Journal entry I did on My Favorite Music. If you click on the photo you can see all 4 pages of the layout. It was really fun to do!

Had to put on a funky, silly video for today. I just LOVE it! Anyone remember this song?


Thank you for all of the anniversary wishes! We went out to eat at a South American restaurant last night...Doña Emilia's. It was just "ok." We probably wouldn't go back. We were surprised since it was rated highly and sounded really good. The food was just bland. We like spice and thought that South American food would be spicy. Oh well, we love trying new places so it was fun anyway. We went to Krispy Kreme on the way home. That was Noah's request since he was with us :)

Today's recipe is a little more complicated that some others I've shared. Somedays I like to take a long time in the kitchen (strange, I know!) so this recipe definitely keeps me there for at least an hour. It is the most delicious Chicken Pot Pie, though! It's modified from the recipe by Emeril Lagasse.

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie
*This recipe may seem like a little more trouble, but it is so delicious! Would be especially good for those cool fall and winter nights. This makes one pot pie and would freeze well in a deep oval pan. You can either make your own double pie crust or buy the refrigerated Pillsbury ones. You can’t use the frozen ones that are already in a pie dish, though, as they are too small in that pan.

6 Tbsp. Unsalted butter or regular margarine
1 cup chopped yellow onion
½ c. chopped celery
salt and pepper to taste
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. whole milk (or ½ and ½ for the daring people)
1 c. peeled, diced, boiled (for about 5-7 minutes) red potatoes
1 c. diced carrots, boiled 5-7 minutes
1 c. peas (fresh or frozen)
1 c. corn (fresh or frozen)
2 c. shredded, cooked chicken breast
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
6 tablespoons flour
½ tsp. Rosemary
1 tsp. Sage
double crust for pie (can use refrigerated Pillsbury ones, near the refrig. Biscuits)

Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray. Be sure to keep the pie crust refrigerated until the very end of the recipe. Cook all vegetables according to above directions before proceeding. Heat butter or margarine in large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onions and celery, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes to make a blonde roux. Stir in chicken broth and bring liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to medium/low and simmer until sauce begins to thicken, 4-6 minutes. Stir in milk and continue to cook for another 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; add rosemary and sage. Stir in potatoes, carrots, peas, corn, chicken and parsley. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. Let this cool at room temp. for 15 minutes.

Line the baking pan with one pie crust. Pour the filling into the crust. Place 2nd crust on top. Carefully tuck overlapping crust into the pan, forming a thick edge. Crimp the edges, cut vents in the top crust. Bake at 400° covered until filling begins to bubble. Then remove foil so top crust can brown. Pot pie is done when top crust is browned well and filling is bubbling out of top crust vents. Enjoy! :)
Note: Let pot pie sit in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes before putting foil on top to freeze if you are going to freeze it. Before baking, make sure foil isn’t stuck to top crust after you take it out of the freezer. This is a good time to use the non-stick foil from Reynolds.
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Listen to your favorite music today! :)
- Jennifer

"We are like those who dream. Our mouths are filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. It is said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.” Yes, the LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Psalm 126:2-3" - Phillip Ware